Page 25 of A Brambleberry Summer

“My dad taught me we should always tell people thank you for things they do. Sometimes we might be the only ones all day who say it to them.”

Rosa had to smile at that. Her gaze met Wyatt’s and she found him watching her out of those unreadable blue eyes again.

“That is probably true. Then I must say thank you for sharing dinner with me. I enjoyed it very much.”

“So did I,” Logan said.

“As did I,” Wyatt said to her surprise.

He rose and took her trash and his to the garbage can and dumped it, then returned to the table. “Are you walking back to Brambleberry House?”

“Yes.”

“We’re headed that way, too. We can walk together, if you want.”

Did she? A smart woman would tell him she only just remembered an errand she needed to run at one of the little shops close to the taco truck. Spending more time with Wyatt and Logan was definitely dangerous to her peace of mind.

She couldn’t think of anything she needed at any of the touristy places in this area of town, anyway.

“Sure. It makes sense as we are going the same place.”

Fiona jumped up from her spot beside Hank, almost as if she had been following the conversation and knew it was time to go.

Sometimes Rosa thought the dog had to be the smartest animal in the world.

As if on cue, Hank jumped up as well, then sat on his haunches and looked pointedly at his owner, as if to tell him he was ready to leave, too.

“I’ll take Hank,” Logan said and picked up the leash. He led the way, still chattering, as they headed along the sand toward Brambleberry House.

“Looks like it’s going to be another gorgeous sunset.” Wyatt looked out across the water at the clouds fanning out across the sky in shades of apricot and plum.

“Lovely.”

It was the sort of beautiful, vibrant summer evening meant to be spent with a special someone.

Too bad she didn’t have a special someone.

Rosa sighed. She hadn’t dated anyone seriously since she moved to Cannon Beach four years earlier.

She really should go out on a date or two. All of her friends were constantly trying to set her up, but lately it all seemed like so much bother. Maybe that would distract her from this unwanted and inconvenient attraction to Wyatt.

Rosa was not a nun or anything. She dated, when she found someone worthy of her time, though it was rather depressing to realize she hadn’t dated anyone seriously in a long time. Not since college, really?

For two years, she had been very close to a fellow business major whose parents had emigrated from Peru. She and Santos had talked about returning to South America to open a string of restaurants.

As far as she knew, he might have even done that. They had lost track of each other after graduation and she rarely thought of him anymore.

Santos and the few other serious relationships she’d had had taught her that sex could be beautiful and meaningful with someone she cared about.

She was happy with her life. She was running a successful business, she lived in a beautiful home and she loved the surroundings in Cannon Beach. She had good friends here and back in Utah and loved her volunteer work for the local women’s shelter.

Okay, maybe she was sometimes lonely at night. Maybe she sometimes wished she could have someone to cuddle with, to talk to at the end of the day, to share her hopes and dreams.

Fiona was lovely but talking to her had its limitations since she couldn’t respond.

At the same time, she was not sure she was ready for the inherent risks of trusting her heart to someone.

She had told no one else about the things that had happened to her. Not even Santos or the few other men she had dated seriously had known the entire truth. She had told them bits and pieces, but not everything.

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